In yet another ambitious move to improve the aesthetics of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the government of Lagos, has rolled out 1000 new cars to kick-start Lagos Ride, a government-backed ride-hailing service. The new Lagride in Lagos State, 1000 more to join soon. The goal is 5000 taxis. This is commendable ? pic.twitter.com/wHEISunKP9 — OTUNBA ?? (@ManLikeIcey) February 8, 2022 Some…
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software that drives digital transformation and sustainability, has announced its participation in the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) 2022, which will be held from February 14-16, 2022 at the Egypt International Exhibition in Cairo. AVEVA will demonstrate its broad portfolio of cutting-edge solutions in Value Chain Optimization and PEMS (Predictive…
The US government is committed to supporting programs that promote STEM education and give students opportunities to contribute to Nigeria’s long-term and inclusive economic prosperity. On Saturday, the United States Consulate General in Lagos hosted Africa’s first drone soccer competition in collaboration with the Global Air Drone Academy and the Lagos State Ministry of Education….
Pius Ang’asa has been named Country Manager for Kenya by Nokia. He will serve as the primary interface with local authorities and the government, and he will be in charge of establishing and leading the Country Sales Committee (CSC) to grow Nokia’s business in the country across all customer segments. “Kenya is a key market…
Adapting Global Products to Local Needs and Preferences | by: Oluwadamilola Ojo In the dynamic and eclectic setting of African Market, the success of every Product Manager lies on how they embrace the needs and preference of local consumers. As a Senior Products Manager at Kromium Health, I stand at the corridor of this challenge building resilient…
The Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) has announced the establishment of Africa’s first and only Fintech Fund, with a capitalization of $50 million. The fund, which is backed by MyGrowthFund Venture Partners, will focus on African fintech startups with proven technology. With the establishment of the fund in KIFC, African investments in the fintech sector…
Meta’s plan to discontinue its low-cost Express Wi-Fi internet, which was launched five years ago to drive connectivity in underserved regions, has had the greatest impact on countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Meta (formerly Facebook) quietly issued this notice, stating that the program will be phased out later this year. However, in countries such as Kenya,…
The African Coding Network is now accepting applications for its professional certificate programs, which will begin in 2022 in collaboration with Grow with Google and Facebook (Meta) Blueprint. The professional certificate programs last 3-6 months and are entirely online. You can learn from anywhere, at your own pace, with assistance from the African Coding Network…
The education technology space has reached new heights with the release of the Afrilearn Mobile App, which is now freely available to Primary and Secondary School students across Nigeria and beyond. This was stated in a statement issued by Afrilearn on Wednesday, February 3, 2022. Afrilearn, founded in 2019, provides free, fun, and world-class education…
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan launched a new national identity project in August 2014. The new e-ID card was billed as the “super app” of civil registers and traditional ID cards, combining digitally verifiable identification with the ability to make electronic payments and even withdraw cash from ATMs. To cut a long story short, it…
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, reported a bleak mix of a larger-than-expected drop in profit, a drop in users, and threats to its ad business on Wednesday, sending shares down 22 percent in after-hours trading. Already, jittery markets have punished pandemic-era darlings such as Netflix for disappointing results, and Meta has had a taste of that…
Following their selection as winners of the Techne Corporate Innovation Programme, four Egyptian startups have been awarded a total of US$40,000 in cash prizes. Techne, a network of initiatives that supports tech and tech-enabled startup ecosystems throughout the Mediterranean region, launched its Corporate Innovation Programme in November, enrolling over 300 startups across four tracks: CleanTech,…
Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), a Lagos-based hub, accelerator, and investor that has recently expanded across Africa, has chosen three Namibian startups to participate in the Seedr accelerator it is running in collaboration with local partner Startup Namibia. CcHub has been on an expansion spree in recent years (see here), and now claims to be Africa’s “largest…
Stitch, a South African API fintech startup, is hosting a “startup showcase” in collaboration with Paystack and Disrupt Africa to provide an opportunity for early-stage fintechs from across the continent to share their solutions with local and global investors and access support. The Stitch API, which is currently available in South Africa and Nigeria, enables…
Over the course of a record-breaking 2021, investment into the African tech startup ecosystem nearly tripled, with total funding passing the US$2 billion mark for the first time. This is according to the seventh edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report, which was released by startup news and research portal Disrupt Africa as…
Six more African startups have been confirmed as participants in the renowned Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator’s W22 batch, bringing the total to ten. Between now and March, the W22 batch of the Y Combinator program, which has played a role in the early days of companies such as Airbnb, Coinbase, and Dropbox, will take…
The Sandbox, Animoca Brands’ metaverse subsidiary, has committed a $50 million fund to venture capital firm Brinc as part of a new program seeking to invest in and mentor startups building beyond the platform’s Open Metaverse. Mentorship, education, and development support for startups will be a major component of the accelerator, as will access to…
YouTube today announced the names of African creators who have been chosen to join a global cohort of 135 from around the world in the company’s flagship #YouTubeBlackVoicesFund initiative. The fund is primarily interested in investing in Black creators from around the world who are telling new and authentic stories. While the creators from Kenya,…
Fetola, a business growth specialist, has opened applications for its Circular Economy Accelerator (CEA), which aims to provide mentoring and skills development to South African entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses in the circular economy. Sixty-five entrepreneurs will be selected to participate in the 18-month incubator programme, which is designed to meet the needs of…
Nigeria became the first African country to adopt a digital currency, the eNaira, in October 2021. Three months later, only 10% of digital currency transactions have been peer-to-peer transactions. This was revealed by Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, at the first MPC meeting of 2022. According to a Nairametrics report, the…
Applications are now available for the second cohort of the AUDA-NEPAD Home Grown Solutions Accelerator, which aims to provide hands-on, highly personalized support to developing and mature-stage African healthcare enterprises in order to help them improve and flourish. The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group and Villgro Africa, is behind…
It is common knowledge that women are underrepresented in the worldwide technology sector. While more women are beginning to create tech professions in a male-dominated field, women still do not receive the same level of visibility as their male counterparts due to this underrepresentation. Being the Public Relations Officer of Zenithchain, a blockchain business requires…
In 2019, a few months after the African Continental Free Trade Deal (AfCFTA) was signed, CcHUB hosted some African tech and creative industry professionals in Kigali, Rwanda, to discuss how the newly signed agreement could benefit the tech and creative ecosystem. Tola Onayemi, a young lawyer from Nigeria, was among the 80 participants from 30…
Oracle, the world’s largest database management firm, launched its first cloud region (a cluster of data centers) in Africa last week, joining other global giants such as Microsoft and Amazon that already operate data centers on the African continent. The opening of the data center in South Africa marks Oracle’s 37th cloud area globally, with…
Utopia and the World Economic Forum’s new Centre for Urban Transformation have launched a worldwide Urban Innovation Challenge to engage an ecosystem of 800 innovative urban entrepreneurs, investors, and mayors from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Entrepreneurs who are working on real-world urban tech solutions that help to make the world a better place, enable…
The issue of women’s under-representation in technology is one that will continue to haunt the industry and provide meat for debate. And it isn’t only an African issue; women all across the world are trying to keep up with their male counterparts. According to Statista, just 9.8 percent of start-up founders in West Africa were…
The Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund will receive up to US$ 13 million in funding from FinDev Canada and its 2X Canada facility, according to an announcement made by FinDev Canada and its 2X Canada facility (EEGF). The Electricity Entrepreneurs Growth Fund provides catalytic capital and technical assistance to early and growth-stage entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa…
The marketing communications sector has historically been sluggish to react to major technical advances, from the inception of the modern internet to the shift to mobile, social, and cloud in Web 2.0. With the introduction of Metaverse and other new blockchain concepts and solutions that are Web 3.0 compatible, companies and agencies that fail to…
Applications are now available for the Norrsken Impact Accelerator in Stockholm, Sweden, which provides assistance, mentorship, and US$125,000 in investment to selected early-stage entrepreneurs from around the world. Norrsken, founded in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, one of the founders of Swedish finance unicorn Klarna, promises to assist entrepreneurs address the world’s toughest challenges. Its ecosystem…
Born out of a need to bridge the digital skill gap in Africa, Women in Agile (WiA) Africa is transforming the continent through adaptation and continuous improvement. Speaking at a press conference in Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday, Mercy George-Igbafe, the convener of the WiA Africa Conference 2022 and the founder of Learntor stressed that many…